Posted on 11/09/2010 8:05:31 AM PST by Gennie
(CBS) A mysterious missile launch off the southern California coast was caught by CBS affiliate KCBS's cameras Monday night, and officials are staying tight-lipped over the nature of the projectile.
CBS station KFMB put in calls to the Navy and Air Force Monday night about the striking launch off the coast of Los Angeles, which was easily visible from the coast, but the military has said nothing about the launch.
KFMB showed video of the apparent missile to former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Ellsworth, who is also a former Deputy Secretary of Defense, to get his thoughts.
Scroll down for KFMB video showing the launch.
Video here
"It's spectacular… It takes people's breath away," said Ellsworth, calling the projectile, "a big missile".
Magnificent images were captured by the KCBS news helicopter in L.A. around sunset Monday evening. The location of the missile was about 35 miles out to sea, west of L.A. and north of Catalina Island.
A Navy spokesperson told KFMB it wasn't their missile. He said there was no Navy activity reported in the area Monday evening.
On Friday night, Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, launched a Delta II rocket, carrying an Italian satellite into orbit, but a sergeant at the base told KFMB there had been no launches since then.
Ellsworth urged American to wait for definitive answers to come from the military.
When asked, however, what he thought it might be, the former ambassador said it could possibly have been a missile test timed as a demonstration of American military might as President Obama tours Asia.
"It could be a test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine … to demonstrate, mainly to Asia, that we can do that," speculated Ellsworth.
Ellsworth said such tests were carried out in the Atlantic to demonstrate America's power to the Soviets, when there was a Soviet Union, but he doesn't believe an ICBM has previously been tested by the U.S. over the Pacific.
Officially, at least, the projectile remains a mystery missile.
Thank you.
Backgrounder Boeing Defense, Space & Security P.O. Box 516 St. Louis, MO 63166 www.boeing.com Airborne Laser Test Bed
...According to MDA, the experiment began at 8:44 pm Pacific Standard Time when “a short-range threat-representative ballistic missile was launched from an at-sea mobile launch platform.
...During the experiment, the aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base and focused its high-energy laser at the missile target during its boost phase as the aircraft flew over the Western Sea Range off the coast of California.
...Eight days earlier, on Feb. 3, 2010, ALTB completed its first intercept of an airborne target by destroying a Terrier Black Brant sounding (research) rocket launched from the ground on San Nicolas Island, Calif.
First thing I thought of was China or Russia testing Obama and showing us what they could do. We’ve got the Narcissist weenie man in the White House. God, I hope we can last two more years.
But you can bet every single ATC in the tower at LAX had a visual on this, not to mention every westbound aircraft on approach out to 100 miles, not to mention all AC taking off and heading towards the loop eastbound.
And our Secretary of State is where?
“Some people will believe just about anything.”
How about chem-trails? Suspiciously lingering white clouds that look like, uh, like clouds?
There’s about as much chance this was a foreign missile as Barney Frank has of being the Republican Presidential Nominee in 2012.
That is some good strategery.
I am sure there were a number of WTF’s on the radio right about then.
Mystery ICBM Launch 35 Miles off LA Coastline
http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/mystery-icbm-launch-35-miles-la-coastline
NOTE: Whitley will be on COAST TO COAST AM RADIO to talk about this at 10 pm on Tues., Nov. 9! At 6PM on the evening of Noveber 8, Los Angeles local media were flooded with calls: what appeared to be an intercontinental ballilstic missile was rising into the sunset off Los Angeles. The event was videotaped and there is no question that a large missile emerged from the water and rose into the sky on a trajectory that took it out to sea. The US Navy says it was not responsible for the launch. Where the missile might have landed is unknown. There have been no reports of damage, but a submarine launched missile of this apparent size could have a range of 7,000 miles or more. The US Trident II submarine launched missile has a published range of 7,000 miles. The US and Great Britain deploy the Trident II, Russia deploys the Sineva and Vysota missiles, and the Vysota can also be used to launch satellites, but the observed trajectory of the missile did not appear to be a satellite launch. China’s JL-1 is deployed on the Chinese submarine fleet, and India and France also have submarine-launched missiles on active duty.
Humm. Didn’t LAX have a phantom blip on a radar a few years ago that got everyone excited?
If this was a contrail from an airplane, wouldn’t they be able to determine which one it was and also the precise location for this to occur? Wouldn’t they have been able to do that by now?
Again, they know it’s not a foreign military launched missile, but they don’t know what it is.
Do they think we’re total idiots???
Just like yourself. Who said anything about afterburners. I’m stating that it is a reflection off the fuselage filmed at extreme range. I’ve witnessed these lit aircraft contrails myself. Was I witnessing a ballistic missile launch? No. You really need to think perspective when analysing such footage. Go back and study the link that I posted. Are those examples ballistic missile launches? No.
http://uncinus.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/4/
Obama is going to the G20 in South Korea....
You know it.
Nope, don’t buy into chem-trails.
Face palm yourself. Are you stating that these are all ballistic missile launches? Think perspective.
http://uncinus.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/4/
There wouldn’t be ONE contrail from ONE airplane, unless the skies were cleared of ALL other aircraft.
My point is, if the atmospherics are right for contrail development, every aircraft at that altitude will produce contrails.
Keep me posted- thanks.
And you’re right- this wasn’t a small-time rocket launched off the back of a Boston Whaler...
Unless...Balloon Boy has a cousin.
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